Have you ever heard the Keith Green song “So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt”?

Back in the 80′s….or the “olden days” as my one son likes to refer to it…Keith Green {and many other pioneers to the CCM “movement”} had a strong, positive influence in the youth group I belonged to. Green’s music was particularly authentic and relevant to that group of Brooklyn kids; an alternative to the steady stream of Madonna, Bon Jovi, Wham!, etc. that we all listened to since we were “teens of the 80′s”! In many ways, it strengthened the faith of this Chickie Girl. I NEEDED to hear uplifting lyrics set to music that spoke “my language”. {{{I wish I would have kept THAT thought in the front of my mind when I was making decisions for my older children. I was WAY to restrictive and harsh when it came to certain “types” of music and they missed out on a lot of encouragement. Yet something ELSE they can discuss with their future therapists, I am sure :0)}}}

I remember the day I heard Keith died. At 17, I was working at my first Christian “gig” as a camp counselor. My faith was VERY new and his death shook it up a bit. WHY would God remove someone from the world that seemed to be doing awesome things for His glory? It was a genuine inquiry.

Being the gentle, amazing God He is, I recall Him showing me that how HE chooses to run His world is often times none of my concern {there may have been some scripture or a person, I don’t remember exactly}. He knows what He is doing and sometimes, that includes hard times and unclear {to us}  answers. We need to trust Him. That, of course, is a short and to the point answer. There are volumes written on this topic.

But sometimes, I like the “short and simple” when it comes to these deep “theological” topics. I don’t think spending an abundance of time trying to figure God “out” is always the right way to go. Sometimes the answer is pretty simple.

TRUST ME.

Theology has it’s place {and I do LOVE it}, but what is it that parents often say???

Because I said so, that’s why.
Sometimes God says simply: “Because I said so, that’s why”.<-click

SUH-MACK down…in a loving way of course. He always wants us to come to Him no matter what the question or concern. He REALLY desires it! There are moments we need to come to Him like a little kid comes to a parent or teacher. If you need a refresher course on how to come to God like a child, print up these worksheets! He keeps things simple. He answers when He knows the timing is perfect.

Think of a time in your own past, when you simply had NO clue what on earth God had in mind when He let “something” happen.

Was it a death…the loss of a friendship…the foreclosure on a house…the brokenness of a marriage? {I have DOZENS of “WHY GOD” moments}. Can you see NOW that God was not idle? Can you see that THAT “something” drew you so much closer to Him?

Is it possible, we did NOT see why {unclear answers abound in my head}, yet in some miraculous way, our faith was strengthened? Strengthened by the silence of God. What a dichotomy.

Have a tissue handy. This song is a beautiful reminder that though we may not hear Him, God is never silent. <click

“And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God.”

~Andrew Peterson~

Now, this is a toughy, can it be our faith has NOT been strengthened? The “something” in our past was the “thing we feared the most” and so we fear to trust in Him fully because the worst that could happen did and God felt….distant?

I have moments like that last one. My faith is stronger than it was back when I was a 17-year-old new Christian asking God “WHY???”, but let me be honest; there are areas my faith is as weak and fragile as a baby bird.

HIS faithfulness will NEVER let us down, especially in the midst of struggles and doubt. HE WANTS to show Himself faithful to us.

God WANTS us to live with joy in the “land of promise” rather than long for the “leeks and onions of Egypt”.<-click

My “Egypt” is pretty much the one where *I* am in complete control of everyone and everything :0). Sadly, I neglect to ask Him what He would like accomplished in a situation…or even just in my DAY! “Egypt” is in my past, though not so far in my past that I cannot look over my shoulder and see it…and long for it! Still…His faithfulness is so much greater than “Egypt”!

What is your “Egypt”? 

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